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Comment by yuppie_scum | Hacker News Reader

I’ve never heard of annual brake lubrication in areas that use road salt. Seems excessive to me. I’ll wait until they start screeching and do it then maybe.

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Modern calipers have slide pins that they move on (so that you only need pistons on one side). These can freeze up, and your brake pads won't wear evenly. By the time it starts screeching, the friction material is gone, the steel backing plate is rubbing, and you're replacing the rotor too. (I actually fixed this exact problem on a Ford truck the other day)

Are you aware that most EV drivers rarely use the brakes? At 50k miles, mine look new.

Even if you rarely use the brakes, seems to me like a good idea to keep them functional. And based on my experience working on old, worn out shit, the less something is used, the more likely it is to get corroded or gunked up and not work.

I'm not sure who was advocating non-functional brakes? I looked around the conversation and didn't see anyone with that opinion. I mean, maybe you think yuppie_scum thinks that, but in my case, I know my brakes look like new because they were inspected.

On a Tesla the pins the calipers ride on can seize due to corrosion from road salt used in some places during the winter. It's recommended maintenance to inspect and lube them. I've only driven in the southern US so it's not been an issue for me and my brakes were fine when inspected last fall.

My Nissan Leaf's brake rotors rust up and I have to do a few hard brakes every month or so to clean them up.

I have found that most auto shops always replaces the rotors. Not quite sure why. Maybe new rotors are just thinner so they can't be resurfaced? Or maybe it's just to save time. Or maybe since break pads can last a really long time it's just makes sense to always do both.

New rotors are cheaper than using a break lathe.

(There's a lot of Brake Lathes for sale on CL.)

Aren't Tesla's brakes supposed to last a really long time because of regenerative braking anyway?

If you drive in Hold mode, you rarely need to use the brake pedal. https://www.tesla.com/support/videos/stopping-mode

The brakes latch in Hold mode so while you aren't using the brakes, the car is using them.

That being said, they don't engage until the vehicle has come to a complete stop so there's probably little if any wear incurred.

Thanks for the clarification, edited my comment to indicate "brake pedal" :)

That's actually why they need the lubrication. They are in use a lot less and so can seize up.

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